Always
by Gates Hale
Summary: Remebering the good and bad times, he waits for her at the airlock, knowing that he loves her and she loves him.


One day. Twenty- four silly hours. 1440 minutes separating them. Waiting was agony. It'd already been too long. He said he wouldn't come back, but his resolve was gone in less than two years. He knew she waited. She hadn't given up. She also didn't know he was there, waiting for her shuttle transport. He was much better at shape shifting now. Nobody knew it was he who waited at the airlock, waiting to see her beautiful smile. His thoughts drifted.

_"Are we going to have dinner together or not?" She sounded frustrated._

_"And if we do? Then what?" He couldn't believe he was questioning her, but doubt lingered in the corner of his mind._

_"I don't know, maybe we could go dancing."_

_"And after that I suppose you'll expect me to kiss you?" A glimmer of hope crossed his thoughts._

_"It's possible," She stared at him._

_"Well, then, who needs dinner? Why don't I just get it over with and kiss you right now?" His voice was argumentative; they both were._

_"Well, why don't you?" this was it. The moment._

_He grabbed her by both shoulders in front of everyone on the promenade and passionately kissed her._

_After several seconds she broke away. Breathlessly she said, "You're right... who needs dinner?"_

_They kissed again, softer, but with no less enthusiasm or want. _

The moment, the conversation, the feel of her lips to his, everything, was permanently etched into his memory. That was why he could never stay away. That was why he was there.

He glanced at the chronometer. 1430 minutes left. He steeled himself or the impossible wait.

She sighed discontentedly. The transport was uncomfortable and she was beyond tired from her business at the Capital. As much as she loved visiting Bajor, it seemed these trips were getting harder and harder. She glanced at the time and groaned. Two more hours. She slumped back against the seat. To be quite honest though, it wasn't as if anything super exciting was waiting for her back at the station, just her own bed and a sonic shower. She thought back to a time when getting back to the station was heaven.

_She stepped from the transport, only to be swept into an enormous hug from him._

_"How I've missed you..."_

_"I've only been gone three days," She teased._

_"A lifetime," He smiled._

_She nodded her agreement._

_"Hungry?" He asked._

_"Famished."_

_"I've got dinner reservations in an hour. Care to join me?"_

_"Always."_

Always, she thought sadly. Always had ended long ago, and yet, she still expected him every time she stepped out of the airlock. And every time, the pain hit her again, sharp as when they'd first parted ways. She didn't know why she held on. He told her he was gone. Forever. He could never return. But she didn't believe it. She loved him too much to believe it. Always.

He'd regenerated in anticipation of her arrival. He didn't want to be a puddle when he met her. His eagerness threatened to consume him as he struggled to maintain some semblance of patience. Forty- two minutes. Once again, his thoughts wandered, but this time, to a sadder moment.

_"The Link! It's so different."_

_"They're dying."_

_"You should go to them." It would almost have been easier if she wasn't there. But then he couldn't have done it._

_He looked at her sadly. "Please, tell everyone I'll miss them."_

_"Even Quark?" She joked half-heartedly._

_"Even Quark," he nodded. "But most of all..."_

_She put her hands to his face, "I know."_

_Grabbing her hands, he tenderly kissed her palm. Kisses placed on her forehead and cheek turned into one long, lingering kiss on the lips, one of the saddest moments of his life._

_He shifted his uniform to a suit. "You always said I looked good in a tuxedo."_

_"You do." Her smile was the most beautiful thing he would ever see. She placed he hands on his chest, breathing him in for the last time._

_"Then this is the way I want you to remember me." He gazed deep into her eyes, memorizing every detail._

_"I'll never forget you," she whispered._

_"Goodbye," he placed a hand on her cheek, feeling her warm skin._

_Slowly, he walked into the sick ocean holding her hand as long as possible. She smiled, but tears spilled over her eyelids. It nearly tore his proverbial heart out. He raised his hand in farewell and sank into the Link. Though she didn't know he could see her, he watched the amazement on her face as the ocean of Changelings was healed. That face was seared into him forever._

He closed his eyes, knowing there were still twenty- six minutes remaining. He felt... he didn't know. But he knew he had to be with her.

She could see the station now, and she was glad. It was evening, so she wasn't required on duty. She could spend a quite night alone. Alone. The word tore at her soul. She could've pursued a romantic relationship, but he was an impossible act to follow. She heard the docking clamps latch onto to hull. Everyone around her stood to exit the transport. She decided to wait for everyone else to disembark before trying to push through the crowd.

His proverbial heart leapt to his mouth as the airlock opened. Several people got off, none of them her. More and more stepped pass him and he started to wonder if she was really there. It seemed as though everyone was off and he almost cried out. But then, the beautiful woman he loved stepped from the airlock. Her face matched every detail he remembered.

She walked tiredly into the corridor. An impossible voice called her name.

"Nerys."

She turned to face him but was enveloped in his embrace. "Odo?"

"Yes, Nerys." He relished using her name.

Kira Nerys collapsed into sobs in his arms, and he felt, had he been able to, a very similar reaction would be occurring in him.

"But... but I thought..." She trailed off looking at his wonderful face.

"Sh, my love. I'm here now."

"Oh, Odo, I love you."

"And I you." He kissed her forehead.

"How long?" Kira asked, scared of the answer.

"Forever."

They kissed, headless of the crowd. The only thing that mattered was each other and that moment in time.

"Always..." She whispered.

"Always, Nerys."


End file.
